One of the reason why Charlie and Rachel have such a hard time believing Emma couldn’t have changed and I still some evil violent person is because out of all the 4 confessions, they didn’t have to deal with the consequences of their actions. Sometimes when you cause harm and have to face the music you’re forced to learn and grow and change. Emma didn’t even go through with her plans but seeing her classmates react to a shooting and mourn a fellow classmate caused her to become empathetic and a gun control activist. We don’t know exactly what happened after Mike used his ex-girlfriend as a shield from the dog but we can assume she was injured or in danger of being injured. Either way Mike has to deal with the situation afterwords. Charlie cyber bullied someone so badly they moved away and he never had to see or hear from that person again. Rachel locked a mentally disabled boy in a closet long enough for there to be a search party and no one found it and she gets off Scott free. It’s another reason why Mike seems the most sympathetic to Emma since he understands the shame and guilt hurting someone causes that charlie and Rachel just cannot comprehend. Charlie and Rachel’s worst moments are downplayed and brushed aside. When they tell their stories there’s almost a lack of regret in their actions and they’re quick to absolve themselves because they didn’t have to deal with the aftermath. It’s only when Charlie cheats that he feels the same shame and guilt in hurting his wife that he can fully grasp what Emma means when she says not defining people by their worst moments.
